Fairest
by AniPendragon
Summary: Apple isn't her mother and she never will be. She is simply too different. Somehow, that's okay. Raven/Apple. Oneshot.


**Author's Note:** Time for a Rapple oneshot! This is something I've been thinking about a lot, lately. I hope you all enjoy it. It's set during the ending of Way Too Wonderland.

Reviews and constructive feedback welcome!

* * *

 **Fairest**

Apple White was not her mother. She'd known this from the time she was old enough to know how to eavesdrop. She was blonde. Her eyes weren't the right shade of blue. Her skin wasn't pale enough. She was too strong, too forward, too _smart_. Dozens of criticisms from the time she was small, and they only piled up as she grew older.

By the time Apple started at Ever After High, she'd decided to take the criticisms as a challenge. They thought she was too smart? She'd become even smarter. They thought she was too forward? She'd be the most popular girl in school. They thought she wasn't kind enough? She'd befriend every person in the school. And yes, maybe she took the challenge a bit too far, but Apple loved to prove that she was more than just a "damsel". Loved to challenge the idea of what a damsel was.

She was going to be a queen, for crown's sake. She was going to be _the_ queen of Ever After. Maybe not officially, but Snow White was the most popular and perhaps the oldest story in all of Ever After. She was practically the queen of the Storybook of Legends.

So yes, Apple White was more than happy to prove people wrong. And even happier to prove that you didn't need to be a picture perfect copy of your parents to get your own Happily Ever After.

Then, Raven Queen entered the picture, and every moment of Apple White's perfect Happily Ever After came crashing down.

She wasn't evil. She wasn't angry. For godmother's sake, she was nicer than _Apple_ in some ways. It was absolutely riddle-iculous! But Apple wasn't one to be deterred. So she set to work on turning Raven into her perfect evil queen, so that she'd still get her Happily Ever After, even if she wasn't her mother.

Then Raven hadn't signed the Storybook of Legends. Then the rebels had been formed properly. Dozens of students had joined Raven. Hunter, Cedar, Sparrow, Cerise, Maddie… There were so many that Apple's heart sunk just to think about it. Some of them didn't make sense! But it happened. The school split into Royals and Rebels, and Apple was left trying to unite a broken school.

Of course, she and Raven were fighting as well during this, but even then, Raven wasn't _mean_. She was just as confused as Apple was. Which was probably even worse, in hindsight. Apple had been underhanded at times during those days. Her mother would have been horribly disappointed in her.

After the school had settled, there was True Heart's Day (point: Raven), in which Apple realized, once and for all, why she just wasn't fond of Dexter Charming. It was because she wanted Raven. And not to be her Evil Queen, but to be her Princess Charming, so to speak. It was upon that revelation that Apple worked even harder to convince Raven that she needed to sign the Storybook. If Raven signed, surely all of this would disappear?

Except it didn't. Ashlynn became a Rebel. The school started to unite again despite their different opinions. Daring Charming of all people started to be a half-decent human being (and was that a low blow? Apple wasn't sure anymore). He was nicer, sweeter. So were the rest of the princes. They weren't the same boys she'd grown up with anymore.

None of them were the same anymore. Not the princes, not the princesses, not the heroes nor the villains. It made Apple's head spin just to think about it. But she was nothing if not determined, so she set to work on understanding the changes in all of her friends and her classmates.

And then, just when Apple thought she had it all figured out, Thronecoming had happened (point: Raven). The Storybook was fake. The glasses proved all. Raven was tricked into almost signing…

Apple had thought she wouldn't be able to hide her feelings for Raven then. She'd _told_ Raven she loved her, but Raven had taken it to mean platonic love. Not that Apple was complaining. It would have been downright humiliating for Raven to interpret it the _correct_ way (though she did love Raven in many ways, truthfully).

Somewhere along the line, the Spring Fairest festival had happened (point: Raven Kitty), and Apple's only memory of that was Raven telling her that she wasn't the Apple that Raven knew and _loved_. Apple knew Raven had meant platonically, but those words had given her many a cheesy and romantic dream. Dreams of white horses and tall towers, of apples and glass coffins, of daring confessions when they stood together against an evil dragon…

Dreams that she, of course, hid from Raven.

And, for a while after that, everything was fine. Apple and Raven were good friends. They talked a lot about destiny and fear. About legacy and their mothers. About the stories they were supposed to fulfill, and about how both of them had their insecurities about them.

It was the first time Apple had ever given voice to her thoughts. To her fears about people thinking she wouldn't make a good Snow White. Her hair, her authoritarian ways, her penchant for placing friendship above true love. Her love for Raven instead of Daring. Of course, she'd kept that last part to herself, but she had confessed to Raven that she felt nothing for Daring.

Raven had only said that that was probably a good thing, considering who Daring Charming was. They'd had a good laugh about that. Although, several days later, Apple noticed how he was looking at Lizzie Hearts. How she looked back at him. And Apple had wondered if Daring and Lizzie wouldn't rather be rebels sometimes. And Apple couldn't help but wonder if things would be easier if she was a rebel…

But then they'd all disappear. Or else they'd all hate her. And Apple couldn't bear to think about that.

Of course, things couldn't stay perfect forever (that just wasn't the way the world worked, ever after all) and, soon after her heartfelt discussions with Raven, they'd all been sent to Wonderland.

Wonderland was where everything had changed, once and for all, in so many ways that Apple had a hard time understanding each and every one. Briar had confessed to taking the Storybook of Legends. Lizzie had saved her mother. And Raven… Raven had finally signed the Storybook of Legends, and Apple had become very, _very_ grateful that Raven hadn't signed it before. If she had…

Apple still didn't like to think about that. About the way Raven had grinned and gone completely evil. About the way Raven had been completely willing to _kill_ another human being. But, in the end, Apple had managed to bring her back.

And, together, they'd destroyed the Storybook of Legends. Together, they'd given everyone the power to choose their own destinies. Apple was still terrified, still reeling. But she knew this was the right thing to do. Everyone deserved to make their own happily ever afters. Lizzie and Daring deserved to date openly. Cedar deserved to become a real girl however she chose. Apple deserved to be a queen without forcing herself into perpetual unhappiness over her king.

And, maybe most importantly during all this, she'd told Raven how she felt, in so many words.

Raven hadn't noticed it at the time, though, and now, standing on the balcony of the castle in Wonderland, Apple wondered if she hadn't been obvious enough. She'd wanted so badly for this to all work out. But it seemed that Apple wasn't destined for a new Happily Ever After just yet.

She sighed, propping her elbows on the balcony and staring out into the starry night sky of Wonderland.

"Apple?" asked Raven, her voice soft and hesitant. Apple turned to see Raven standing in the entrance to the balcony. Apple gave Raven a soft smile, and Raven crossed the balcony to stand next to Apple. They both leaned against the railing and stared up at the stars for a few minutes, alone and together, all at once.

"Can I ask you something?" asked Raven, not looking away from the stars. Apple glanced at Raven out of the corner of her eye. Managed a nod.

"Of course, Raven," said Apple.

"Earlier, when you said I've always understood you, did you…" Raven trailed off and shook her head. "I'm sorry, this is ridiculous. I'm just hearing things."

Apple touched Raven's hand and leaned a bit to look Raven in the eye. "You never known unless you ask," said Apple in a soft voice. The book was gone. Their destinies were their own. _This was it_ , thought Apple.

"Apple," said Raven. "How exactly do you feel about me?"

Apple bit her lip and took a deep breath. "I don't like lying," said Apple. Raven blinked a few times. "And I don't want to lie. But I also don't want to ruin what we have."

"Apple?"

"You're… incredible, Raven. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me." Apple turned back to the railing and leaned hard against it, staring at the stars. "You taught me how to make my own destiny. You taught me how to accept my differences from my mother – how to embrace them – instead of taking them as a challenge to be _better_ than my mother." Apple sighed. In a soft, breathy voice, she said, "You're everything to me."

"Apple…," said Raven. "Are you in love with me?" Apple couldn't place Raven's tone above the roaring of her own ears.

Apple looked at Raven properly then. Saw the clash of emotions at war on Raven's face. Fear, longing, _hope_.

"Yeah," said Apple, blinking back the tears in her eyes. "I'm in love with you, Raven Queen. That's why I can't follow my destiny anymore." Her lip trembled as she spoke, and her voice broke on the last syllable.

Raven cupped Apple's cheek with one hand and wiped away a few flyaway tears with her thumb. "Oh, Apple," said Raven. "If I'd known sooner…"

"But you know now," said Apple, voice still crackling.

Raven smiled. "Yeah, I do." She was blinking back her own tears now as well. "I've loved you for a while, Apple." She laughed. "That's why I was fighting so hard to unite the school, even with all the rebel and royal stuff."

Apple laughed, and it was a happy sound despite her tears. "So we? We can…?"

"Yeah," said Raven. She brought up her other hand so both were cupping Apple's face. "Hi," said Raven, grinning.

"Hi," said Apple, blinking hard. She slipped her arms around Raven's neck and leaned in close. Raven closed the distance and the two kissed.

Sparks flew up between the two in a great show of light. Apple and Raven jerked back to see the fireworks going off above them.

"What?" said Raven.

Apple grinned. "True love's kiss," she said, locking eyes with Raven. "The stories are true."

The two both laughed and rested their foreheads together, still grinning.

"So, uh," said Raven. "You wanna go dance?"

Apple nodded. "That sounds _lovely_ ," said Apple.

And, hand in hand, the two walked back to the doors and into the party, where they danced the night away and pretended not to hear Briar and Holly arguing over who had been right about Apple and Raven's relationship.


End file.
